Device for the articulation of doors

ABSTRACT

A door hingedly connected to a suitable frame structure by means of hinge structure for enabling the door to be swingably moved about the opposite side extremities of the door. A first pair of rotary bearings are mounted on the upper and lower ends of the door adjacent one extremity thereof, which bearings have arcuate slots therein which coact with arcuate projections provided on the frame and disposed for coaction with the first pair of bearings. A second pair of rotary bearings are mounted on the upper and lower edges of the door adjacent the opposite extremity thereof and include arcuate slots disposed for coaction with a further pair of arcuate projections mounted on the frame, whereby the door can be swingably moved about either extremity thereof.

United States Paenii 1w Parera DEVICE FOR THE ARTICULATION OF DOORS [111 3,733,749 51 May 22,1973

Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard & Flynn {57] ABSTRACT A door hingedly connected to a suitable frame structure by means of hinge structure for enabling the door to be swingably moved about the opposite side extremities of the door. A first pair of rotary bearings are mounted on the upper and lower ends of the door adjacent one extremity thereof, which bearings have arcuate slots therein which coact with arcuate projections provided on the frame and disposed for coaction with the first pair of bearings. A second pair of rotary bearings are mounted on the upper and lower edges of the door adjacent the opposite extremity thereof and include arcuate slots disposed for coaction with a further pair of arcuate projections mounted on the frame, whereby the door can be swingably moved about either extremity thereof.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEmzxYzmm 3.733749 SHEET 1 [IF 4 lorneys PATENTEU m2 2 1m SHEET 2 BF 4 Inventor Pa a @[Pf P/I/PCFA tlarneys eratively disposed for the entrance therein of arcuate projections coinciding with same, which are presented by the upper and lower parts of the frame precisely at both extremities, in order to facilitate the turning and opening of the door by both vertical borders of same. In said gyrational bearings, the slots in the rest position from continuities with the aforseen arced entrance slots.

Moreover, the confronted slots at each side of the door,,present their arcuate concavities confronted, for the retention of the door within the frame when in the closed position.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the device of the present invention applied to a refrigerator opening to the right.

FIG. 2 shows a device corresponding to FIG. 1, but opening to the left.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the door.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the door illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the door in an open position when hinged from the right, substantially as illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the door in an open position when hinged from the left, substantially as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to the figures, it is seen that the device comprises at both sides of the door 1, precisely at the upper andlower parts, rotary bearings 2 each having an arcuate slot 3, which slots in the closed position of the door receive therein the arcuate projection 4 provided at each extremity of the upper and lower parts of the frame 5. As is apparent from inspection of FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the two open positions of the door are illustrated, the arcuate slots and projections adjacent one edge of the door are generated substantially about the hinge axis adjacent the opposite edge of the door, and vice versa.

In order to open the door, one or the other handles 6, 7 must be pulled, because if the two handles are pulled at the same time the door will remain closed, seeing that the arcuate projections 4 of confronting concavities will hold the door, which must necessarily rotate on one of its bearings, right or left to leave the frame, said bearing being the hinge.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination, a frame having an opening therein and a door hingedly mounted on said frame and swingable between open and closed positions, the improvement comprising:

a first pair of rotary bearing means mounted adjacent the upper and lower ends of said door, saidfirst pair of rotary bearing means being substantially co axially aligned and defining a first axis disposed adjacent one edge of said door;

a second pair of rotary bearing means mounted on said door adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof, said second pair of bearing means being substantially coaxially aligned and defining arsecond axisdisposed adjacent the opposite edge of said door; I I

each of the rotary bearing means of said fi rst-. -pair having a first arcuateslot formed therein, and each of the rotary bearing means of said secondpair having a second arcuate slot-formed therein, said first and second arcuate slots having their concavities facing one another;

a first pair of elongated arcuate projections fixedly secured to said frame adjacent the upper and lower ends of said opening, said first pair of arcuate projections being disposed adjacent one edge of said opening and positioned so as to be received within said first slots; and

a second pair of elongated arcuate projections fixedly secured to said frame adjacent the upper and lower ends of said opening, said second pair of arcuate projections being disposed adjacent the opposite edge of said opening and being receivable within the second arcuate slots as formed in said second pair of rotary bearing means;

the arcuate configuration of said projections and said slots enabling said door to be moved away from said opening only by swinging movement of the door about either of said first and second axes due to removal of one of said pair of projections from its coacting pair of slots, said arcuate configuration of said coacting slots and projections positively preventing both pairs of projections from being simultaneously removed from their coacting pairs of slots when said door is in said closed position.

2. In combination, a wall having a substantially vertically extending opening therein and a substantially vertically extending door hingedly supported on said wall for closing said opening, the improvement comprising: first hinge means coacting between said door and said wall for permitting swinging movement of said door about a first substantially vertical hinge axis disposed adjacent one vertical edge of said door; said first hinge means including first and second coaxially aligned hinge units positioned adjacent the upper and lower ends of said door; second hinge means coacting between said door and said wall for permitting swinging movement of said door about a second substantially vertical hinge axis disposed adjacent the opposite vertical edge of said door; said second hinge means including third and fourth coaxially aligned hinged units positioned adjacent the upper and lower ends of said door; each of said first and second hinge units including (1 a first hinge part rotatably mounted on one of said wall and said door for rotation about said first axis and (2) a second hinge part fixedly and stationarily secured to the other of said wall and door, one of said first and second hinge parts having an arcuate projection and the other of said first and second hinge parts having an arcuate groove for reception of said projection; each of said third and fourth hinge units including (1 a first hinge element rotatably mounted on one of said wall and door for rotation about said second axis and (2) a second hinge element fixedly and stationarily secured to the other of said. wall and door, one of said first and second hinge elements having an arcuate projection and the other of said first and second hinge axes, the coacting grooves and projections of said first and second hinge means cooperating to fixedly maintain said door secured to said wall when said door is in said closed position to prevent lateral movement of said door as a whole away from said wall. 

1. In combination, a frame having an opening therein and a door hingedly mounted on said frame and swingable between open and closed positions, the improvement comprising: A FIRST PAIR OF ROTARY BEARING MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENT THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID DOOR, SAID FIRST PAIR OF ROTARY BEARING MEANS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIALLY ALIGNED AND DEFINING A FIRST AXIS DISPOSED ADJACENT ONE EDGE OF SAID DOOR; A SECOND PAIR OF ROTARY BEARING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID DOOR ADJACENT THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS THEREOF, SAID SECOND PAIR OF BEARING MEANS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIALLY ALIGNED AND DEFINING A SECOND AXIS DISPOSED ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE EDGE OF SAID DOOR; EACH OF THE ROTARY BEARING MEANS OF SAID FIRST PAIR HAVING A FIRST ARCUATE SLOT FORMED THEREIN, AND EACH OF THE ROTARY BEARING MEANS OF SAID SECOND PAIR HAVING A SECOND ARCUATE SLOT FORMED THEREIN, SAID FIRST AND SECOND ARCUATE SLOTS HAVING THEIR CONCAVITIES FACING ONE ANOTHER; A FIRST PAIR OF ELONGATED ARCUATE PROJECTIONS FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID FRAME ADJACENT THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID OPENING, SAID FIRST PAIR OF ARCUATE PROJECTIONS BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT ONE EDGE OF SAID OPENING AND POSITIONED SO AS TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN SAID FIRST SLOTS; AND A SECOND PAIR OF ELONGATED ARCUATE PROJECTIONS FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID FRAME ADJACENT THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID OPENING, SAID SECOND PAIR OF ARCUATE PROJECTIONS BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE EDGE OF SAID OPENING AND BEING RECEIVABLE WITHIN THE SECOND ARCUATE SLOTS AS FORMED IN SAID SECOND PAIR OF ROTARY BEARING MEANS; THE ARCUATE CONFIGURATION OF SAID PROJECTIONS AND SAID SLOTS ENABLING SAID DOOR TO BE MOVED AWAY FROM SAID OPENING ONLY BY SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE DOOR ABOUT EITHER OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND AXES DUE TO REMOVAL OF ONE OF SAID PAIR OF PROJECTIONS FROM ITS COACTING PAIR OF SLOTS, SAID ARCUATE CONFIGURATION OF SAID COACTING SLOTS AND PROJECTIONS POSITIVELY PREVENTING BOTH PAIRS OF PROJECTIONS FROM BEING SIMULTANEOUSLY REMOVED FROM THEIR COACTING PAIRS OF SLOTS WHEN SAID DOOR IS IN SAID CLOSED POSITION.
 2. In combination, a wall having a substantially vertically extending opening therein and a substantially vertically extending door hingedly supported on said wall for closing said opening, the improvement comprising: first hinge means coacting between said door and said wall for permitting swinging movement of said door about a first substantially vertical hinge axis disposed adjacent one vertical edge of said door; said first hinge means including first and second coaxially aligned hinge units positioned adjacent the upper and lower ends of said door; second hinge means coacting between said door and said wall for permitting swinging movement of said door about a second substantially vertical hinge axis disposed adjacent the opposite vertical edge of said door; said second hinge means including third and fourth coaxially aligned hinged units positioned adjacent the upper and lower ends of said door; each of said first and second hinge units including (1) a first hinge part rotatably mounted on one of said wall and said door for rotation about said first axis and (2) a second hinge part fixedly and stationarily secured to the other of said wall and door, one of said first and second hinge parts having an arcuate projection and the other of said first and second hinge parts having an arcuate groove for reception of said projection; each of said third and fourth hinge units including (1) a first hinge element rotatably mounted on one of said wall and door for rotation about said second axis and (2) a second hinge element fixedly and stationarily secured to the other of said wall and door, one of said first and second hinge elements having an arcuate projection and the other of said first and second hinge elements having an arcuate groove for reception of said projection; the concavity of the grooves and projections of said first and second hinge units facing the concavity of the grooves and projections of the third and fourth hinge units for permitting said door to be moved into an open position only by selectively horizontally swinging same about a selected one of said first and second hinge axes, the cOacting grooves and projections of said first and second hinge means cooperating to fixedly maintain said door secured to said wall when said door is in said closed position to prevent lateral movement of said door as a whole away from said wall. 